


Facts and Ficiton

by Momuno



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Jake ships Quodo, M/M, Story within a Story, but only in the first part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-22 22:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23268178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momuno/pseuds/Momuno
Summary: Nog raised up the PADD which started slow but ended with him practically shoving it into Jake's face. "Is this story about my uncle and the constable?"
Relationships: Nog & Jake Sisko, Odo/Quark, pre Nog/Jake Sisko
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63





	Facts and Ficiton

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for clicking on this story.  
> I hope you'll enjoy it. You can always let me know what you think. I am always happy to hear people's opinions.  
> But now, with no further ado:

> _Trig didn't know where up and where down was. His arms flailed around, trying to find something to hold on to, anything. But there was only the vast openness of the water. His lungs began to sting, begging him to inhale, to let fresh oxygen in. It hurt and Trig fought against his own body. More bubbles escaped the corners of his mouth until all air was gone from him. This was it. He was going to die. He was going to drown and it would be all Dana's fault. If Dana hadn't chased him he wouldn't have slipped off that stupid bridge._   
>  _At that moment Trig lost the fight against his instincts. He opened his mouth. And while water flooded his lungs and dark spots began to dance in front of his eyes Trig felt as if a strong arm reached around his torso. Then he lost consciousness._
> 
> _The thief awoke to the uncomfortable feeling of a burning throat. He was lying in a bed, that much he immediately knew. He was also handcuffed to said bed and a slow beeping computer to his left indicated that he was in fact alive. Alive and in serious need of getting out of this room and back to his work, before his associates decided that he wasn't holding up his end of their deal._   
>  _There were voices coming from the other side of the door, but Trig was still too tired, too 'I almost drowned' to care enough and listen. He was trying to pull his left hand from its handcuff when the door was opened with a jerk and the plague haunting Trig's life entered the room._   
>  _Dana looked tired - 'Like he just spent hours worrying at a sickbed' Trig's mind provided unhelpfully - as he crossed the room to stand next to the bed and look down on him. Not that Dana was ever not looking down on him. That man really forgot to grow at one point in life._   
>  _"You should consider yourself lucky. The next time one of your nefarious schemes ends you in the middle of a lake, I am going to let you drown."_   
>  _Trig chuckled. It hurt his throat._   
>  _"I fear, there's a lot you need to learn, my dear Detective. Your bedside manner is, for the lack of a better word, atrocious."_   
>  _"So?", the detective asked, raising one thin eyebrow. The hint of a smile ghosted across his lips. The facial expression was so typical for him, it almost felt comforting. "Why is my bedside manner so bad, if I may ask?"_   
>  _Trig lifted his hands in a mock version of surrender. Or, he tried to, at least. The handcuffs stopped the motion short."Well for one, no one likes hearing that they are nefarious. Cunning, yes. I like that word. It's much more charming, don't you think?"_   
>  _Dana hummed. "And what makes you think that I would want to charm you?"_   
>  _A sharp-toothed grin answered him. There was something int the air. Something both of them felt yet neither wanted to acknowledge._

Nog paused, putting the PADD he had previously scooped from the floor, of all places, down. He knew that he had told Jake he wouldn't read his works without the Human's permission, but he had just wanted to put the PADD on a table and it had been unlocked and the lines had just begged to be read. Besides. If Jake didn't want others to read his unfinished work he should start locking his PADD. It was hardly Nog's fault that he felt the certain need to pander to his curiosity. But it wasn't a sudden pang of guilt that had made him stop his reading. No, it had been something different. Those characters seemed... familiar. But that couldn't be. Jake would not plagiarize, Nog was certain of that. If these characters reminded him of others, it was probably a coincidence. It had to be.  
The young Ferengi decided that the best option was to scroll back to an earlier part of the work and see whether the feeling stayed the same. After all, he couldn't even pinpoint who those characters reminded him of, so it was most likely nothing. And, to be 100 percent honest to himself, Nog kind of wanted to know what happened before that situation he just read. What was the harm in picking a random side and reading it as well?

> _"Why should I help you?", Trig hissed under his breath while making sure that no one was watching him, or more importantly listening to him. It wouldn't do him any good if people around here knew who he was talking to. Dana sighed in that particular way that made Trig incredibly annoyed. It sounded pretentious. Like Dana was preparing to explain something to someone he deemed lesser. Sometimes Trig really wanted to strangle the taller man._   
>  _"You could see it as a challenge..."_   
>  _"I don't like challenges!" Trig interrupted him. He knew that Dana hated being interrupted just as much as Trig hated being looked down upon. 'Tit for tat, my dear Detective. Tit for tat' it was an old human saying and while Trig didn't particularly like humans, the idiom had found its way into Trig's parlance._   
>  _"Then consider it part of this childish play you're playing. Your gamble of whether or not I will catch you in something that will get you in trouble one day. Let's say I just raised the stakes." A certain wave of concealed excitement filled Trig and from the way, Dana had talked he could tell that this didn't leave him as unfaced as he liked to pretend._   
>  _"That does sound better. I am intrigued. But before you forget it... you have never managed to put me behind bars before and we've been playing this game for ten years. I don't think your luck will change now." Trig let his eyes travel across his bar as he a smile made its way onto his lips. Today was going to be a good day._

Bar. This Trig character had mentioned his bar. Of all possible establishments, he owned a bar, just like a certain someone Nog had known ever since he was a child. But that couldn't be, because in that case, Dana would probably be that one person that had it out for Nog's uncle more than anyone else. He really needed to ask Jake whether his suspicion was right and if so why he had decided to base his new book on those two of all people?  
To Nog's relief, he didn't need to wait for too long. Within the next hour, Jake entered their quarters, the chime of the door announcing his arrival and a big smile on his face. He was in a positive mood. Good. That meant he probably wouldn't mind that Nog had read his PADD.

"Hey." The human greeted his friend. "How's your day been? You won't believe what happened on the promenade today. There was this Bajoran woman in front of" he stopped, looking around. "Didn't you want to clean today? You literally sent me out so I wouldn't be in the way."  
That was true. Nog _had_ wanted to clean today. And he _had_ sent Jake so he could do so in peace. But that was before he had discovered the story Jake was working on. "I got distracted.", the young Ferengi admitted. Jake laughed.  
"Really? What has been so distracting that it could force itself between you and your Starfleet training?"  
Nog would have rolled his eyes if there weren't more important actions to be taken. So instead he raised up the PADD which started slow but ended with him practically shoving it into Jake's face "Is this story about my uncle and the constable?" So, it was out and now Jake could tell him that he was reading too much into something. Just because there was someone on the side of the law and someone who wasn't as much on that side, didn't mean those characters were modeled after people they actually knew.

"Oh," Jake started after staring at the screen for a few seconds. Probably to identify what exactly Nog was showing him. "Yes, they are. What do you think?"  
"What I think? You seriously... Why would you write about my Uncle? That's what I think." The smile on Jake's face fell the tiniest bit and Nog immediately felt bad. He hadn't meant to sound mad, because he technically wasn't. He was just very much confused. Not only because Jake had decided to write about Quark, but because he had decided to give the character representing him what appeared to be romantic feelings towards the character that was supposed to be Odo. And Uncle Quark most definitely had no romantic feelings towards Odo!  
"Well at first I was thinking about just writing a Detective Story. But then I thought that a story from the view of the opponent of said Detective could be more interesting. And since I already told your uncle that I decided to mold my criminal after him, I decided to stick with that plan. That Dana became a lot like Odo was just bound to happen really. I mean... their dynamic is just perfect for a story like this."  
Jake gently took the PADD from Nog's fingers and set down on one of the chairs. "So if you're worried about that, I do have Quarks consent. And I will tell Odo... sooner or later. He will probably be pleased that his character is a good citizen, following the law to the max and such."

Nog shook his head. "That's not what I'm worried about. I just don't think that they would appreciate that you portray them to have feelings for each other." Jake furrowed his brows. "Why? It's the truth."  
The Ferengi snorted. "Oh please. You don't believe that, do you? Odo clearly can't stand my Uncle and he just thinks of Odo as a major pain in the ass."  
"Dude." Jake looked like Nog had just asked him to chew his food for him. "Are you serious?"  
Nog nodded but Jake wasn't done yet. "Have you ever seen how Quark looks at Odo when he thinks no one sees? I know when someone is smitten!"  
 _'No, you don't'_ Nog's mind provided his true feelings, just like Trig's had in that story Jake was working on. "I just don't see it." He answered instead, crossing his arms in front of his chest. It wasn't like he would mind if it was the truth, but he had heard Quark complain about Odo so much, he just couldn't imagine anything between them.  
"Look, you didn't hear the way Quark talked about Odo when he thought that the constable had ruined a scheme..."  
"Business plan." Nog interrupted on instinct. Jake rolled his eyes and continued. "A business plan of his. He didn't just sound angry. He sounded hurt. There's something there, trust me!"  
 _'Hear all trust nothing.'_ One of the rules of acquisition immediately came to Nog's mind. He may be a Starfleet Officer, but he was still a Ferengi. "Okay," He exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "We're going to ask him."  
Jake laughed. "Sure, fine by me. I'm not the one asking a family member about their sex life."

Quark's was full, as usual on a busy evening. Waiters were running around, balancing full loaded trays on their hands, without spilling a single drink, dipping in and out of the masses. Jake and Nog were hunched by the door, keeping an eye out for the owner of the bar. Jake's chest was prest to Nog's back as he leaned over the smaller one to gain a better look at the bar and Nog had to suppress a shudder at the contact. Quark stood at the bar. To their surprise or lack thereof, he wasn't busy pouring drinks or replicating food. He also wasn't trying to charm a lady seated at the bar. No, he was standing, his back to none other than Odo himself, so close he could probably lean back against him with just a few inches of movement if he wasn't doing it already. Quark was typing something on his private PADD, every now and again holding it up a little bit so that Odo could look at it. As if the Changeling wasn't peering over his shoulder the entire time. Then, without as much as an indication as to why, Quark suddenly moved or better said twirled, out of Odo's space and moved towards the back room of the bar. The constable moved only a second later, following the Ferengi through the many people around them.

Jake gently pushed Nog forwards and they started in the same direction. They were just far enough back to see Quark close the backdoor behind them. Nog grinned. "And now I'm gonna prove to you, that there's nothing going on between them." He reached the door and quickly, and while trying to pull as little attention as possible, override the security code. He knew this was wrong and he would not do it again. But he had a good reason. To his misfortune, he realized too late that his Uncle may not see this the same way.  
The backroom door slid open, leaving Jake and Nog with a perfect view on Odo and Quark who were not in a heated makeout session but simply looking at a bunch of crates that seemed to hold a few bottles of some alcoholic beverage Nog hadn't seen before. The two older men turned around and Nog immediately knew that he had won, but at what cost? His uncle looked positively pissed. Like he was ready to rip Nogs lobes off any second. "What are you doing here?", he hissed marching towards them and only Nog's training at the academy kept him from escaping backward. "We were investigating suspicious behavior."  
"Suspicious?", Quark turned around to Odo. "I am sorry Constable. I'll be back in just a moment.", then he gripped Nog's upper arm in a vice-like grip and pulled him out of the room. Jake followed on his own accord.  
Nog had to admit, his uncle was particularly good at navigating threw a sea of people that were in most cases taller than him and as soon as Nog at found himself in the bar that evening he found himself in front of it again.

"What do you think you're doing? Overriding my security system? If I.."  
"We were trying to help you." Jake interrupted. He had managed to catch up to them. Apparently being tall and lanky wasn't always an advantage. Quark was stunned for a moment, as he heard Jake's words. Stunned enough for him to loosen his grip a little bit and allow Nog to slip out. "What?"  
"Yeah. We saw Odo follow you and we thought you might need some distraction." Jake continued.  
Quark hesitated. Looking from Jake to Nog and back to Jake. "Is that so?"  
"Yes!" Nog interjected. "I mean, we were hoping for a helpers fee."

Quark pulled a wry face, at the mention of the possibility of him paying the two of them anything. "Well, you can forget that. I did not ask for your help. And besides. I was merely showing the Constable that the crates were in fact perfectly legally imported. So if anything your little stunt, probably made him more suspicious!"  
Jake and Nog had the decency to exchange a guilty glance. "Now get out of here. You've done enough for one night." Quark stormed back into his bar, not sparing the two boys another glance. Nog swallowed. That could have gone better. But then a thought crossed his mind. He turned around, grinning brightly at his best friend. "Looks like I was right."  
Jake rolled his eyes. "Oh please, that proves nothing." And together they started the way back towards their quarters.

At the same time, Quark slid back into the back room of his bar. "So?" Odo asked. Quark shrugged. "Well, they clearly think I'm stupid. But I told them we were just inspecting those crates over there." Odo chuckled as Quark crossed to space between them. "Why? It's not like this is that much of a secret."  
"No, but if you ask me, the two of them should worry about their own relationship. I'm telling you, something's about to happen there." The Ferengi rose up on his tiptoes and brought one arm around Odo's neck to bring him down to himself. "And now enough of that. Do that thing with your lips on my lobes again."

_~ FIN ~_


End file.
